Florists, Chocolatiers, and restaurants gear up for the twenty–four–hour love-fest known as Mother’s Day. Meanwhile, young children are busy creating cherished heirlooms such as necklaces constructed out of painted dried pasta; photos with hand-decorated cardboard picture frames festooned with lots of sparkles and glitter, and, my personal favorite, gushy “Happy Mother’s Day” cards that get taped to … Read more
When I was fourteen years old, I was thrilled to receive my cap at the Candystriper Induction Ceremony at The Barnert Memorial Hospital in Paterson, New Jersey. Although my friends and I fussed and giggled as we tried to keep our caps from slipping or tilting, at the time we were far more focused on … Read more
In honor of Nurse Appreciation Week, Soaringwords celebrates the nurses who show up every day with skill, compassion, and unwavering commitment—especially the thousands of nurse partners in skilled nursing communities who bring the SOARING Into Positive Wellbeing Workshop Initiative to life and serve residents with dignity and empathy. Our gratitude is rooted in a long … Read more
Pop quiz: What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think of old age? Hmmm…. it’s fascinating when we look at what comes up for us because our thoughts shape our life experience in dramatic ways. Stereotype Embodiment Theory proposes that negative age beliefs bring about detrimental health effects, misleadingly characterized as inevitable … Read more
This morning, I am sitting in the hospital waiting room while my mother undergoes spinal surgery in a pristine, state-of-the-art operating room two floors away. In the weeks and months leading up to this moment, both of us have experienced all of our emotions, although not necessarily the same ones at the same time. Working … Read more